Christmas 2009

This year our family traveled over 2,400 miles during the Christmas Holiday. We are so grateful for the family and friends we saw along the way and were blessed by the conversations, the meals, the activities and the fun throughout our 10 day vacation.

Our trip began on Friday, December 18th. We left Houston at 10:30 am after Jack's last final exam for this semester. We headed north to St. Louis for the funeral of my 92 year Grandmother, Trudy Bouzek. It was an emotional start to the Christmas break as we buried her next to my Grandpa who died when I was twelve. My Uncle Les and my mom, Dianne, shared some great stories about Grandma and I cried and I smiled as the memories were revealed. I was grateful for the beautiful day we had. The snow had just fallen and the trees were coated with white. It was a winter wonderland. I saw cousins from all over the states that I hadn't seen in many years. Catching up was fun as we shared lunch together after the service. I know that Grandma loved seeing us all together.

Early Sunday morning, we headed to Tennessee to see Bill's Grandmother Smith, Uncle Arnie, Aunt Becky, Aunt Kathy and cousins Emily Kate and Andrew. We arrived just in time for a scrumptious dinner of pot roast and vegetables. It was amazing and perfect for such a cold winter evening. We truly enjoyed our visit as we explored different parts of the Chattanooga area. One day we spent driving through the country seeing where Grandmother and Granddaddy Smith grew up in Sail Creek and Bakewell, Tennessee. The hills and trees were so beautiful and we enjoyed hearing the stories from the past and will cherish that time together. We spent another day touring downtown Chattanooga and the festive window displays in the office buildings. We walked along the riverfront and admired the architecture. We ate at Cheeburger Cheeburger where Matt joined the kids wall of fame by eating a 1/2 pound burger. His picture is proudly displayed for all to see :) After lunch we went to "Look Out Hill" and slid down the grassy hill on cardboard boxes. This was so much fun! We stayed there quite a long time. We had many nice meals together and celebrated Christmas on Tuesday evening with everyone together. Presents were exchanged and pictures taken. It was a wonderful time in Tennessee and we already miss our family there!

Our final stop was Huntsville, Alabama, where we visited my mom, step-dad, my two brothers and their families. We really enjoyed the relaxing days we had as we made final preparations for Christmas and ran those last minute errands and cooked and baked and ate and ate and ate! We had a wonderful Christmas day with all the family at my mom's house. We went go-karting and putt putting and bowling and shopping and then more shopping. We played games and watched television (all those fun HGTV shows that I can't see at home!) The entire time was fun and relaxing and we had a fantastic time. But, like all fun, it must come to an end. We headed back home early Monday morning and arrive after dinner to a chilly Houston and our street lit up with Christmas lights. We have a few days here at the house before heading back to work and school, which is really nice, too. We hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas and that your new year is full of hope and peace.

Cookie Time!

Growing up, my mom had a holiday tradition - a cookie exchange. Bake a bunch of cookies, come together with friends, and exchange them. I continued this tradition as a grown-up and this morning was my 10th Annual Cookie Exchange. It's a great way to spend a Saturday morning - meet together, catch up, drink hot cocoa, swap stories (and cookies), then head back home to finish up all the holiday details that need to be done. My cookie exchange is done a little differently then others that I know of. We have 10 people attend. Each person bakes 10 dozen cookies of the same kind. We package them up in cute containers with 1 dozen each. We bring our 10 containers of cookies and set them on the table and we each go home with 10 different dozen cookies and 10 different containers. It seems like a lot of work to bake 10 dozen cookies - but honestly, it really isn't - it's like tripling one recipe. But in the end - you end up with all sorts of different cookies and it looks like you baked for days.

Above is a group picture with all the cookies displayed on the table. The 2nd pic is what 1 person brought home. You might ask "who's the man in the picture?" Well, my friend Dee baked all her cookies, then this morning woke up not feeling well at all. Her husband, Tim, delivered the cookies and staying to exchange and take a photo. Also...I usually take 2 spots in the exchange (yes...that's 20 dozen cookies). But, Matt really wanted to make cookies, so he had a spot in the exchange. He picked the recipe and we all helped him prepare his "Melt in your mouth Christmas Marble" cookies. They are excellent.

We had a great variety of cookies this year (our only rule is no chocolate chip). What do I do with all these cookies? good question...we will package a variety together and give away to teachers, to neighbors, co-workers, even the mailman. What's left, we eat! The cookies were really yummy and the fellowship with friends was even better. Happy Holidays!

Matt's First Band Concert

Last Thursday was the Cornerstone Winter Concert. One never knows what entertainment is in store - but I have to say - I think this was my favorite one so far. First, the band started the evening off with 3 songs: "You are the Sunshine of my Life", "Jingle Bell Rock" and the most famous Christmas song ever, "Billy Jean" by Michael Jackson (insert sarcastic tone). But...all 3 songs were fantastic and for a bunch of kids who had never picked up an instrument before September, they sounded really good. The players all donned white glittery gloves during their tribute to Michael Jackson. The band director even did the moon walk. It was really fun. The theater kids followed with 5 songs they performed "choir" style and they were amazing. And to wrap up the night, the dance class dazzled us with 4 separate routines that were well choreographed. Matt doesn't think he will pursue the trumpet past this one semester, but he did give it a try and enjoyed his time learning something new. We are grateful we were in the audience for his first and his last band concert. I'll post the video of "Billy Jean" just as soon as I pull it off the camera.

It's a Christmas Miracle...

Not sure what is going on...but believe it or not...Houston had a SNOW DAY! The weatherman had been predicting it all week - chance of Flurries on Friday. Of course, we didn't believe any of them. The weather had been perfect all week - 50s and 60s - wear a sweater and all was good. But this morning, we woke up to some pretty cold rain and as I drove to work, the raindrops hit the windshield just a little more "solidly". By 9:00, that rain resembled flurries and by 10:30, those flurries were full-fledged flakes - and big ones at that. Early dismissal from school was announced and we were able to leave once all the students were safely home. I went to my car and actually had to scrape the inch thick snow off my van. As I drove home, the wipers were on almost full speed to keep the snow off and it built up around the edges of my windows. Enjoy the photos from our afternoon. It snowed continuously until 5:00 pm. The snow is slowly melting as the temperature dropped all day. It's supposed to be in the twenties all night long and the roads should be iced over in the morning. By the afternoon, it will be in the 50s again and all we'll have are the pictures. It was truly a really fun day!